I was invited to attend the FIDE Presidential Board meeting in Minsk which was held on the first weekend of October. Minsk is the likely lead bidder for the 2022 Olympiad and from what I saw they will do an excellent job. The facilities and hotels look first class.
The main point of business was the impending financial disaster for the FIDE. Not bankruptcy — in fact, the reserves look reasonably healthy — but the imminent closure of the FIDE bank account. Indeed, the accounts may be closed by the time the magazine arrives. UBS, FIDE’s bankers in Switzerland, have set a deadline of the end of the month for the organisation to cut ties with Kirsan Ilyumzhinov who, due to his sanctioning by the US Treasury on 25th November 2015, is what is known as a ‘PEP’ or Politically Exposed Person.
Banks are not allowed to have dealings with sanctioned individuals; if they do, they run the risk of being shut of all US dollar transaction processing or suffer other sanctions. In short, any serious financial institution will seek to avoid any association with a sanctioned person. FIDE’s Treasurer and Executive Director have tried to take their business to many other banks, but all rejected the organisation.
Sanctions, what sanctions? | Photo: Maria Emelianova, Baku Chess Olympiad
As the deadline looms, Ilyumzhinov has been touring the world declaring he will run for re-election, whereas if he withdrew the bank would have no reason to close the FIDE accounts. After a debate at Minsk there was only one dissenting vote on this:
Minsk, April 8th 2018
Dear Kirsan Nikolayevich,
The Presidential Board has resolved: In the light of:
i. The imminent withdrawal of FIDE’s banking facilities by UBS,
ii. The inability of FIDE to obtain replacement banking facilities while you remain nominal President and subject to US Treasury Department sanctions,
iii. The consequent severe difficulties facing FIDE in funding its obligations and its commitments to the chess family,
iv. The adverse publicity that reflects badly on FIDE’s reputation and undermines the confidence of all those who are or would be involved in chess,That in the interests of the organisation: You should resign with immediate effect.
The Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos (pictured centre), who is currently Acting President, has announced his candidacy for the top job.
Kirsan has manoeuvred very effectively to prevent several possible candidates from standing against him. The Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos, who is Acting President as Ilyumzhinov ceded executive authority last year, announced that as he had been unsuccessful in finding a candidate, he would run himself. I had considered a run for President*, but instead I am exploring the feasibility of joining the ticket as a prospective member of the Presidential Board or as a candidate for Deputy President. It seems to me that whatever has gone before, and many of the incumbents in FIDE bear a great responsibility for supporting Ilyumzhinov over the years, the priority now must be to get rid of him and only then can the organisation be reformed.
The above article was reproduced from Chess Magazine May/2018, with kind permission.
* Wow, didn't we predict this in our report of 1.4.2017?
No, wait, that was actually an April 1st prank:
Andrew Martin, The Surprising Sicilian! – Shock Your Opponent With an Early...Qb6
PC-DVD, running time: 5 Hours and 19 minutes
ChessBase
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Andrew Martin, a man who could sell snow to Eskimos and the Elephant Gambit to club players, continues his industrious output with an examination of a rare Sicilian featuring an early ...Qb6, designed to “Shock the opposition.” After 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 e6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Qb6 Black is trying to take an early initiative by forcing White into unfamiliar territory, although this is rife with dangers for both sides. (Read more...)
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